Airflo Rage Compact Head

Thanks to the good folks at Rajeff Sports, I have been playing around with Airflo’s new Rage Compact lines. The new Rage Compact is a full floating skagit head that seems to be more of a cross between Scandi and Skagit heads. These lines were designed by Tom Larimer and were meant to meet the demands of floating line fishing in the summer/fall in windy conditions that can be seen on rivers such as the Deschutes. After testing these new heads, I have to say that they are one of the most versatile lines on the market for summer/fall steelheading. These new lines are going to rock on rivers such as the Deschutes, Grand Ronde, Rogue, Klamath, and Trinity.

The Rage Compact features an aggressive rear taper that allows for good turnover in windy condtions. The front taper is a little more similar to a Scandi and allows for delicate presentations when fishing smaller flies. The Rage Compact’s were designed for floating line fishing and fish best with 12-14’ tapered leaders and poly/versi leaders. We tested medium to fast sinking poly/versi leaders as well as T-8, T-11, and T-14. The poly/versi leaders performed well as did 10’ sections of T-8 and T-11. While these lines could turn over T-14 it was a lot more work than one would bargain for especially for summer/fall fishing. While they will handle tips, I would stick with medium to fast sinking poly/versi leaders or shorter sections of T-8/T-11.

These lines are going to become very popular amongst anglers especially when chasing fall steelhead and fishing in tight quarters. Look for the Rage Compacts to match up well on Switch rods and Spey rods to about 13’6”. While we tested these lines on five and six weight speys and switches, these lines should fish well on six to 8 weights as well. Below are the specs for all the new Airflo Rage Compact Heads…